Wednesday, January 29, 2020

WHAT'S UP WEDNESDAY | JANUARY 2020

Welcome back, my friends!  Today is the last Wednesday in January which means it's time for another What's Up Wednesday roundup with Shay and Sheaffer!
What's Up Wednesday Graphic



Today we're going to start with what we're eating...

So Craig and I are both doing the Keto diet right now.  I always feel like I need to give a little preface when I talk Keto because I have new readers every day and want to make sure y'all are up to speed.  So if that's you, here's a quick summary.

I did the Keto thing last summer, lost a little over 20 pounds in 2 months which got me to my goal weight, have been able to maintain it while going on and off Keto sporadically (sometimes I'm just more "low carb" than full Keto) but after the holidays my hubs decided to try this thing out.  So we both went strict Keto starting January 4th.  I've lost the 6 or 7 pounds I gained over the holidays since then (when all bets were off and I just enjoyed the season) and Craig is down about 12 pounds.  I think he was always scared he wouldn't be able to do it but he's been blown away by how easy it is and how he can still eat so many of his favorites.  And doing it together this time is so much more fun.

So here's a peek at what we've been eating on #keto.

I posted the recipe for these Keto Pizza Chaffles HERE a couple of weeks ago and we've eaten them at least 3 or 4 times since then.  They are SO FLIPPIN' GOOD, y'all.  We use this mini waffle maker but I think it's time to upgrade to this one that can make 4 at a time.



I had to work late one night last week so Craig said he'd make dinner and asked what I wanted.  I told him to surprise me!  We had a fully stocked fridge so there were tons of choices and he likes to cook when he can be creative or try something new.  And I will eat anything if it means I don't have to cook. ;)

A little while later, I came downstairs, took a quick shower and when I was done, there was a text on my phone from him saying "These will be done in 5 minutes." with a link to this recipe for Taco Stuffed Peppers.  Yummm.

And they were so good!!  I loaded mine up with sour cream, guac, some romaine, and salsa because I was STARVING and hadn't eaten much all day.  (I do that when I get in the zone with work stuff.)  Seriously, so good.


And since the Super Bowl is right around the corner, I thought I'd show you a few easy Keto-friendly options to munch on while you cheer on your favorite team! 
(Or sit and wait for the commercials. 😉) 

Buffalo Wing Dip is a FAVORITE in my house.  We never have a party or get-together without it.  Thankfully, it's pretty Keto-friendly!

You can find recipes for this dip all over the internet but here's what I usually do.  (I usually do this in the oven but lately I've been doing it in the slow-cooker because it's so much faster and still delicious.)


For parties, I make the full version but if it's just us at home, I'll cut the recipe in half.

BUFFALO WING DIP:

16oz cream cheese (Philadelphia has fewer net carbs than off-brand)
1 cup Buffalo Wing Sauce (I always use Franks Buffalo Wing Sauce)
1 cup Ranch Dressing
Shredded Chicken (I never measure this so my bad on that.  I usually shred up a Rotisserie chicken or use a package of this pre-shredded chicken.  But you can bake 2-3 chicken breasts and shred them yourself obviously too!)
1.5-2 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese (Again...it's all your personal preference on how much cheese you add.  More, less...up to you.)

Add it all to your slow-cooker and put it on low for 2-3 hours like most other recipes say to do....BUT we usually will slip it to high and just keep an eye on it.  It's usually ready in 30 minutes or so. 

I eat the dip with these Parmesan Whisps but celery would be an even better option.  Unfortunately, I HATE celery. 🤷‍♀️

Note:  If you are doing strict Keto, you have to be careful not to overindulge in this!  There's definitely lots of calories, fat and a few net carbs so be sure to work out your numbers.

Another great option for the big game:  WINGS!

Craig is a huge Wingstop fanatic.  So when I told him he could continue eating his wings (in moderation), he was pretty darn happy.  I always order the Garlic Parmesan with ranch dressing.  Yumm.  I prefer the boneless wings but obviously, all that breading doesn't work on Keto.  These are a great substitute though.  Most of the wing flavors are keto-friendly.  Just stay away from anything that is sweet!


And as for sweets, we LOVE these High Key cookies in both the chocolate chip and the snickerdoodle!  We just recently tried the snickerdoodle and OMG...dangerously delicious.  We order them from Amazon HERE.  Craig likes to throw on a little Sugar-Free Cool Whip with his but you can make your own Keto Cool Whip pretty easily.  (Just google "Keto Cool Whip").



And finally, since we always have trouble getting in all of our fat while also not going over in protein, I try to have one of my favorite Keto pies on hand.  I've told you about these before but (drooling as I speak...), these will knock your socks off.  I love the lemon and the strawberry fluff.  We had the strawberry fluff pie most recently and let me tell you.  It is heavenly.  Lots of fat, super low in carbs and you will want to stick your face in the whole pie.  At the very least, you will definitely be licking the plate.  ;)

(recipe HERE)

If you're interested in learning more about Keto, you can find some great info in the Keto Life tab in my menu/header here on the blog.

What I'm reminiscing about...

Oh my word, look at this cutie!  Mason was about 2.5 when he got this bike and at 3, he was zooming all over the culdesac without training wheels.  I still remember the day he made us take them off.  Craig took them off, we balanced him from behind his seat like you do and started to run with him but he was GONE!  It was that easy.  At 3.  This kid is a stud. haha



And this sweet picture of Matthew with his arm slung over my big belly when I was pregnant with Mason also popped up in my Facebook memories the other day.  These were the best days of my life and I'd give anything to go back to them!


What we've been up to...

January is always our slowest month in terms of what we've got going on.  Mason didn't play basketball this year which he usually does in the winter (and I'm not mad about it!) so we are in an off-season for once.  Spring baseball starts up soon so the boys have been gearing up for that.  

Mason has started coming home from school, dropping his backpack, and hitting the backyard to do "his workout" every day after school.  I think Craig wrote up a little training program for him to do and he loves it.  I can see him from my craft room window upstairs just hitting off the tee into the net and taking cut after cut.  He even does box jumps using the stones that make up our waterfall into the pool.  haha  


I mentioned the other day that we gave Matthew's room a little desk area in his room and it turned out so cute!  You can see a few more pics HERE from this post along with all the sources for the things I used.



We're still working on the other half of the room.  Hopefully, I can get that done soon and I promise to show you the rest! I'm no interior designer though so don't think it's going to be amazing.  Haha.

Matthew had a band concert last night and did a great job!

(black sweater HERE & earrings HERE)

He's currently 1st chair in his beginner sax class and he really puts in the work without us even having to tell him.  I'm so proud of that boy.  A lot of y'all saw this text he sent me right after school got out the other day when I posted it on Instagram but I had to put it here too.


What I'm dreading...

Not much at the moment!

What I'm looking forward to...

The Manda Strong Gala is at the end of February and tickets sold out so fast that I almost didn't get one!  Craig can't go because his football camp season is starting up so he'll be out of town but one of my besties is going to be my date.  It's going to be a fun night...now to figure out what to wear!

What I'm wearing...

I wear this Mom Mode pullover and it's Mama Bear counterpart multiple times a week.  No lie.  They are just so easy to throw on with pajama pants or jeans.  They look like sweatshirts but they aren't.  They are super soft though.  And yes, I'm well aware that I've mentioned these shirts approximately 92,000 times here on the blog and in my Deals Group but hey...it really is what I'm wearing! (Wearing a small in both.  I think they are TTS but if you want it a little more oversized, go up one.)


The jeans are my favorite Kancan brand!  I got them on Amazon several months ago after seeing them on Jane but not in my size.  Right now you can grab them on Jane though but remember...Jane deals only last 72 hours and today is the last day of this deal so if you want them, get them fast!  I find them TTS with the perfect amount of stretch.

What I'm working on...

Earrings!!  Signs!!  Cute cups!!  Oh my!!

(Ok, that was super cheesy so ignore that. 😂😂)

In case you missed it over on the Gram, I showed y'all one (of two) new shapes I'll be offering my leather and cork earrings in now and they are TOO CUTE!  I made myself this white cork scalloped pair first and they are freakin' adorable.  I wore them to Matthew's band concert with my black sweater (pictured above--which I also have in green b/c I love it so much).

So pretty!  I just love them and can't wait to make them in all my other leathers and corks.  I had to crop out my super dirty hair for this picture. haha


So, creating a listing for all my earrings in this shape is going to be a LOT of work so for now, until I can get everything updated, you can always just leave a note for me at checkout saying you'd like (whatever earrings you picked) but in the scalloped shape instead.

I'm going to be showing you the other new shape today sometime over on both my regular Instagram (here) and my Etsy shop Instagram (here) so be sure to follow me on both if you want to see!  These earrings are my FAVORITE so it's a good thing I know how to make them or I'd go broke buying them. ;)

I'm also working on signs and cups too!  I've had lots of orders for cute teacher tumblers...


...and even more orders for Word of the Year signs!


You can find all this and soooo much more over in my Etsy shop!

What I'm watching/reading...

So many thoughts on The Bachelor right now y'all.  I've never done just a full post dedicated to my Bachelor musings but it's coming tomorrow.  I started typing them here but it got too long (and these posts are always long enough as it is) so I've transferred it all over to a post of its own.  So if you are a Bachelor fan, be sure to come back tomorrow!

Sneak peek...



I saw this one on Instagram along with the caption: "At this point, Peter has a stronger connection with Chase Rice than any of the women on the show." 😂😂😂


What I'm reading...

Y'ALL.  At some point, I'm going to get back to doing my monthly book reviews!  I don't know how I got out of the habit of doing that but I'm going to do better.  I've been watching a lot of recorded shows during the day while I work lately so my audiobooks have fallen to the side but right now I'm currently listening to The Next Girl which is a crime/drama/thriller type book.  I've just started it so I don't have much of an opinion just yet but I'll let you know. 

The Next Girl: A gripping thriller with a heart-stopping twist (Detective Gina Harte Book 1) by [Kovach, Carla]

Reviews say: "If you only read one book this year, make it The Next Girl" and "Best thriller I've read all year!".  So we'll see.

That's all I've got time for today but again, come back tomorrow for a little Bachelor talk if you're into that!  And if not, you can find me at all the places below!



SHARE:

7 comments

  1. After this post today, I'm thinking maybe I should be trying Keto! You make it sound so darn easy!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Girl, you are the last person who needs Keto! You enjoy your bread! 😂

      Delete
  2. Waiting (impatiently) for your book faves :) Can't wait to hear if you like the thriller you mentioned in this post. I love a good thriller.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Go Mason!! His form in the picture is perfection. Hope he continues to work hard and it pays off in the season.

    Looking forward to the Bachelor post. The memes were perfect and the quote about Chase Rice is spot on.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Those producers are working overtime this season! Not sure I'm loving it but then again it is highly entertaining. 😂🤷‍♀️

      Delete
  4. I love the shape of those earrings!

    ReplyDelete

I love hearing from you! Drop a comment below!

BLOGGER TEMPLATE CREATED BY pipdig